If you wish to share a computer hard drive you firstly need to ensure that the computers are connected together in some way.
We have two main ways of doing this.
The first is to connect two or more computers to the same router this is the easiest way as the connection between the two is already in place.
Next we have the direct connection method which involves using an Ethernet crossover cable to connect both computers together via their network ports. (the down side of using this type of connection is it ties up the network ports so they cannot be used for anything else in the meantime, and its harder to configure as we need to specify IP addresses manually)
Let’s discuss in more detail
Both ways are pretty similar the only difference apart from the physical connection is having to specify IP addresses manually if using an Ethernet crossover cable.
If both computers are connected together via a router this is by far the easiest way to share a computer hard drive.
Lets Begin
Connect your computers together using your chosen method (as above)
Continue to the next section if using a Router as you do not need to specify IP addresses as this will automatically allocate them for you, ** Sharing the hard drive – Connecting **
If using an Ethernet crossover cable we need to specify IP addresses on each computer, to do this you need to go into properties for your network card, Control Panel – Network Connections and now open Local Area Connection.
Ensure the General tab is selected and look for Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) highlight this and select Properties.
Change to Use the following IP address and use something like 192.168.8.1 for one computer and 192.168.8.2 for the other.
Sharing the hard drive – Connecting
Now type of connection you are using from the Start Run menu type
\\IP address you wish to connect to \c$,
For example \\192.168.8.1 \c$
You should then see a login prompt box
Enter the IP address of computer to connect to\username – for example 192.168.8.1\john-smith & now enter the login password of the other computer to.
Fingers crossed and you should see the C drive of the other computer popup.
Troubleshooting
If the hard drive of the other computer cannot be found ensure the following..
You are typing in the correct IP address or name of the other computer
Using the correct login credentials
No firewall or security software is blocking the connection
Online file and folders, find out to use the Internet to share files and folders and create backups, plus access them from anywhere with an internet connection
Another nice way to share files is by using a Network hard drive, the cost has come down greatly over the past few months for networks hard drives making them a great way to share and backup files quickly and efficiently.
Need to share your printer? Find out how to share via USB, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections.
For more on how to share a computer hard drive
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